Russian stocks rise as probability of Brexit falls, oil price rises

MOSCOW, Jun 20 (PRIME) -- Russian stocks rose on Monday as the chance of Britain exiting the E.U. diminished, while prices for oil, the country’s mainstay, grew, analysts said.

The MICEX rose 1.37% to 1,902.70 and the RTS increased 2.72% to 935.04.

“On Monday, futures for the European, Asian, and American stock indices are growing. Changes in expectations of results of the Thursday referendum in the U.K. support the dynamics,” Irina Rogova, an analyst at Forex Club Group of companies, said.

“Only a week ago, polls showed that the majority of the British people were ready to vote for leaving the E.U., but the death of British MP Jo Cox, who campaigned against the Brexit, tipped the balance of power in favor of keeping the E.U. membership,” Rogova said.

Abated tensions around Brexit support bullish dynamics of Russian stocks and active purchases of risky assets. “Further growth of oil prices provided additional support to national benchmarks,” Igor Kovalyov, an analyst at InstaForex group of companies, said.

The Brent oil price rose 2.227% to U.S. $50.29 per barrel as of 6.06 p.m. Moscow time, according to the ICE exchange.

The growth of oil prices and the ongoing taxation period supported the ruble and the U.S. dollar–denominated RTS index as well, Rogova added.

But the higher oil price is a worrisome factor, as “the increase in oil prices may prompt the U.S. shale companies to restart production at temporarily frozen fields,” Andrei Dirgin, head of Alfa-Forex’ analytical department, said.

The strong ruble pushed the financial sector stocks higher, with shares of biggest bank Sberbank and second biggest bank VTB Bank rising 2.67% to 132.13 rubles and 1.43% to 0.06999 rubles, respectively, Kovalyov said.

Shares of state-run oil major Rosneft also outperformed the market and rose 4.79% to 336 rubles on the news that a19.5% stake in the company, which is to be privatized, may cost up to $11 billion and may be sold to investors from China and India, Kovalyov added.

Below are the MICEX’ five most active stocks on Monday:

Company	Change, %	Last price, rbl	Trading volume, bln rbl
Sberbank	+2.67	132.13	6.356
Gazprom	+2.62	142.97	2.928
Norilsk Nickel	-1.75	8300.00	1.976
Lukoil	-0.13	2643.50	1.621
Rosneft	+4.79	336.00	1.581

(65.4398 rubles – U.S. $1)

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